Photo: J.B. Chandler · CC BY-SA 3.0Making a living in Judith Gap
Only 4% stay in Judith Gap for work; outside it, Harlowton is the main destination (36%, 17 miles). Working from home is the commute for 6% of workers, next to 12% for Montana as a whole. A typical one-way commute from Judith Gap lasts 18 minutes (Montana 19, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Judith Gap by day and by night
On a workday 24 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 40 people come in from elsewhere.
About 130 people are in Judith Gap on a workday afternoon, 14% more than live here.
1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Commuting in to Judith Gap: where workers come from
Where Judith Gap clocks in
12% of workers
12% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Inside Judith Gap’s 41 jobs
41 jobs are based in Judith Gap.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Judith Gap, 2013 → 2023: 69 → 41. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Judith Gap’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Judith Gap: about 18 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Judith Gap workers work from home, vs 13% across Montana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 52 commuters (the 5% who work from home are left out). Across Montana: 81% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
How far Judith Gap’s workers travel
About 40% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Judith Gap: questions
What is the poverty rate in Judith Gap?
28.6%, against 11.5% across Montana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Judith Gap?
18 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Montana and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Judith Gap work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Harlowton (36%, 17 mi), Helena (12%, 108 mi), Billings (12%, 84 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Judith Gap without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Judith Gap, from the people who make the trip.
More of Judith Gap
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.